Study
Tardigrades Use Intrinsically Disordered Proteins to Survive Desiccation
Boothby, Thomas C.; Tapia, Hugo; Brozena, Alexandra H.; Piszkiewicz, Samantha; Goldstein, Bob
Molecular Cell, 2017
Genes upregulated during drying were identified, and the proteins they encode expressed in yeast and bacteria — organisms that do not normally survive desiccation — to test whether the proteins alone confer tolerance. Their behaviour on drying was characterised directly.
- Studied in
- Hypsibius exemplaris, Ramazzottius varieornatus
- Sample size
- gene expression analysis plus heterologous expression assays
Tardigrade-specific intrinsically disordered proteins are strongly induced by drying. On desiccation they vitrify, forming a glass-like solid that holds cellular structures in place. Expressing these proteins in yeast and bacteria conferred substantially improved desiccation tolerance on organisms that otherwise lack it.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Vitrification by intrinsically disordered proteins is a principal mechanism of anhydrobiosis in tardigrades, and is transferable to other organisms.
How NatureHQ reads it
The transfer experiment is what makes this more than a description. Moving the proteins into yeast and improving its survival shows they are doing the work rather than merely being present while something else does. The mechanism itself is oddly intuitive: as water leaves, these proteins set into a glass, and everything delicate is immobilised inside it rather than collapsing. That also explains why the tun state is so brittle a category — glass is stable until it is not, which is why heat and time degrade survival together.
- Improved tolerance in yeast is substantial but far below tardigrade levels; other components are involved.
- Two species, and different tardigrade lineages use partly different protein sets.
- Vitrification is characterised in vitro; direct observation inside a drying tardigrade is limited.
Moving the survival machinery into yeast
What actually protects a tardigrade as it dries out?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Cell PressPublished in a Cell Press journal.
doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2017.02.018
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-11.